Pulling one loop through another any way I can

Like a juvenile member of the weasel family

I voted this morning at 9:45, after a brisk 3-minute walk from my house to the polling place where I encountered cheerful election judges and no lines. That was kind of disappointing, because I was hoping to see a whole bunch of happy voters-to-be who would share their voting excitement and stories and wisdom, plus I brought my knitting and a water bottle.

Anyhow, if you haven’t voted, GO VOTE! One of my best friends in the wide world voted for the first time today (she’s 30 years old), and she reports feelings of civic pride and a hint of smugness. There may have been a bit of STFU toward me and Anna and others, who have been talking about this campaign season non-stop for a hundred years.

Go vote! Bring your knitting! Bring a book! Bring whatever you need to be comfortable in the event of a long wait. Give yourself a high five for performing your civic duty.

Tell me about your voting experience (today or early voting) in the comments. If you’ve had a crappy experience with voter rolls not being up to speed, or election judges not being up to speed, you can call several voter hotlines, one of which is 1-866-OUR-VOTE, or help NPR report on these problems by following instructions here.

Everyone I’ve talked to (including myself!) reports not having to show ID, which I think is not good. I know showing it would take longer and maybe cause problems but not showing it seems like a bad idea.

@ Samantha – do you mean photo ID, or voter’s registration card? There is no state that requires a voter to show Photo ID, although some request it, and others require some form of identification (not a photo). I found this info here:

@ Bether – no state requires a photo ID for a variety of reasons, one of which is because not everyone has a photo ID. Everyone who is registered to vote has a voter’s card, and often that’s the only ID people are required to present. I showed them mine this morning when I voted so they could check my signature against the one they have on file.

A driver’s license costs $10 and a State ID costs $20 in Illinois. Requiring a photo ID that costs the voter money is equivalent to instituting a poll tax and is likely to keep lower-income folks away from the polls.

actually, not everyone who is registered to vote has a voter’s card. we didn’t have to have a photo ID or a voter’s card. Wisconsin doesn’t even give voter registration cards, to my knowledge. instead you just give them your name and address and they look you up.

@ Margaret – good to know. I wonder what Wisconsin does if the voter is homeless? For that matter, I wonder what Illinois does for homeless voters. I’m a deputy voter registrar and I’ve never had anyone come in who was homeless or at a shelter.

We have a homeless shelter and a women’s shelter here in town… I should figure out what the voting situation is for those of us who aren’t in houses.